Toronto’s hottest fundraising event of the year, UHN’s Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival, presented by HBNG Charitable Foundation, just celebrated a milestone anniversary – and there are more reasons than ever to celebrate.

Since its inception in 2005, the prestigious event has raised more than $170-million in support of medical research and innovation at University Health Network (UHN). That accomplishment has earned the festival the distinction as the top fundraising food and wine festival in the world.

Open this photo in gallery:

“Philanthropy plays a pivotal role in funding medical innovation,” says Todd Halpern, UHN trustee and UHN Foundation board member, who founded the event two decades ago. “It is thanks to our donors that major medical advancements at UHN are within reach.”

Open this photo in gallery:

The three-day event brings together top chefs and international wine producers with medical experts, business leaders and philanthropists.

Top chefs and wine producers unite

On the culinary arts side, participants included Chef Jamie Kennedy and international Michelin-star chefs Daniel Boulud, Michel Troisgros, Gilles Goujon and Stefano Secchi, alongside elite vintners such as Petrus, Marchesi Antinori and Champagne Barons de Rothschild.

This year’s festival kicked off with a live auction and tasting event at Enercare Centre, featuring wines produced by vineyards considered to be the very best for their soil, climate and altitude. The Wine and Dine Experience on the final night featured a series of 19 private dinners held at homes across the city. The exclusive dinners feature multicourse menus curated by world-class chefs and paired with the finest wines selected by international vintners.

Hosts welcomed a lively mix of guests of leading UHN clinicians and researchers, and high-level business executives and philanthropists, all there to support trailblazing innovation that has made UHN Canada’s No. 1 hospital and the No. 1 publicly funded hospital in the world.

Open this photo in gallery:

Transforming the patient experience

With the support of partners such as UHN Foundation, robust advances in health care are unfolding, including the construction of a $1.1-billion surgical tower at Toronto Western Hospital, slated for completion in 2028. The new building will increase provincial bed capacity and elevate patient experience with 82 beds and 20 state-of-the-art operating rooms, and include robotics and artificial intelligence.

Funds raised from this year’s Grand Cru – an incredible $38-million – supported the tower, and included a $30-milllion gift from John and Rosella D’Angelo, Giuseppe and Lidia Maio and Claudio and Gina Memme, in partnership with HBNG Charitable Foundation.

UHN Foundation CEO Julie Quenneville sees Grand Cru’s 20-year legacy as a testament to the leadership of Todd Halpern, the dedication of sponsors and volunteers – and the power of philanthropy.

“When we are united, we have the power to unlock new discoveries that will save lives,” she says. “We can change the world of health care.”

UHN is widely recognized for its dedication to innovation, topping Canada’s Top 40 Research Hospitals from Research Infosource Inc. every year since the list began in 2011. In the 2023 fiscal year alone, UHN’s research budget totalled $539-million.

Its many accomplishments have not only had a profound effect on patient health but have also shaped the future of health care in Canada and around the world.

World firsts at UHN include developing the Toronto Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion System, at UHN’s Ajmera Transplant Centre, which helped double the number of lung transplants performed at UHN and is now used in global clinical practice.

A hospital of firsts

It has also established a long track record for firsts in Canada: it pioneered the use of remote deep brain stimulation technology to treat Parkinson’s disease and is home to the largest neuromodulation program in the country at its Krembil Brain Institute. The hospital also made headlines in 2023 when it introduced Canada’s first hospital-based chief AI scientist role.

As a key partner in health care education, UHN is Canada’s leading robotic surgery training ground using state-of-the-art telepresence and telesimulation. Robotics allow patients, who would normally have lengthier surgeries and longer, more painful recoveries, to go home with minimal scars and fewer days in hospital.

“This is a magical time with respect to the robotics program,” notes Dr. Thomas Forbes, surgeon-in-chief at UHN’s Sprott Department of Surgery. “We’re advancing the number of robots significantly and bringing in the most modern and up-to-date platforms.”

UHN’s commitment to advancing technology is also demonstrated at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, with its Medly remote-monitoring program. Medly provides those who are living with heart failure self-care guidance and access to their care team through smartphones. Medly has helped reduce hospitalization for patients enrolled in the program by 50 per cent.

It’s also home to Canada’s largest multidisciplinary arthritis hub – the Schroeder Arthritis Institute – where, thanks to donor support, osteoarthritis biomarkers were discovered. This holds the potential to diagnose arthritis earlier and lead to early interventions – a game-changer for the leading cause of disability in Canada.

“Health care is important to absolutely everyone,” says Quenneville. “We are all affected. The medical breakthroughs that are happening here have an impact on the entire world.”

UHN’s past, present and future accomplishments are worthy of celebration.

“True to our Canadian roots, UHN has tended to be modest about our achievements, quietly going about the business of caring for our country’s sickest patients while relentlessly pursuing discovery and innovation,” says Dr. Kevin Smith, president and CEO of UHN.

“We should all be proud that Canada is having such a profound impact on medicine worldwide, and that we are demonstrating that it’s possible to provide excellence in care to all patients.”

And with the Grand Cru event providing much-needed funds, that legacy will continue.

Open this photo in gallery:

Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with UHN Foundation. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.